Arizona (and more) for CCSC-RM 2024 - October 16-21, 2024

Wednesday, October 16 - Amsterdam, New York, to Henderson, Nevada, via Albany, Denver, and Las Vegas

I was able to leave Siena before noon for the airport. It was a quick Chick-fil-A lunch there then on to the first flight. That was a good flight, views of the Great Sacandaga Lake, Johnstown, Gloversville, and Caroga Lake before getting into some clouds [3 Pictures]. With lighter than usual headwinds, the flight arrived in Denver an hour early. It was also a productive flight, giving a chance at some grading and other work while in the air. I already had a long scheduled layover in Denver, so I had lots of time to walk around, get something to eat, and get some work done. The Southwest terminal in Denver is one of the most comfortable I've been in, with a variety of and plenty of seating with power outlets everywhere. If you have to be in an airport for 3 1/2 hours, it's not a bad place to have to do it. The second flight to Las Vegas was good too, but being after dark, I didn't get to see any of the Rockies. But our approach to Las Vegas gave a great view of the lights and hotels of The Strip. After landing, deplaning, and walking to baggage claim, I realized my water bottle must have slipped out of my backpack when getting off the plane. No chance by then of being able to retrieve it. Once my bag finally came out, it was time for a pretty long bus ride to the car rental facility. Fortunately, the line was not long at Enterprise and I had my Nissan Altima quickly. From there, it was an easy ride over to my Comfort Inn and Suites in Henderson for the night.

Thursday, October 17 - Henderson, Nevada, to Flagstaff, Arizona, via southern Utah and northern Arizona

I was on my way from Henderson by around 8:30 [3 Pictures] and I had the full day to get to Flagstaff, so I chose a route to travel some new roads and see some new things. First, I drove back through Las Vegas (and its traffic slowdowns). This was my first time even passing through Las Vegas in over 20 years, so a lot had changed. I drove up I-15 next to The Strip then I-11 (designated as such, but still just signed as US 95) to its current northern end. From there, it was back to I-15 with some devations for camera maintenance by the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and new roads by taking US 93 to Nevada 168, then Nevada 170. My first northbound I-15 ride through Arizona's Virgin River Gorge was as great as the southbound one several years ago. Into Utah, I got lunch at a Teriyaki Madness in St. George [Picture]. That was it for the interstates on the day. I took Utah 9 to Utah 59 to Arizona 389 through some typical terrain for the area. The view to the north and Zion looked great but I definitely didn't have time for that on this trip. Once I got to US 89A at Fredonia, the best part of the ride began. After a stop for some pictures at the Le Fevre overlook [8 Pictures] outside Fredonia, it was the mountainous drive through the Kaibab National Forest, opening up to the Vermillion Cliffs, then along the base of the cliffs [16 Pictures] to Marble Canyon and the Navajo Bridge over the Colorado River [18 Pictures]. After that, it was just a straight shot down US 89 into Flagstaff, listening to the Yankees-Guardians epic ALCS Game 3 (that didn't end well). I fought unexpectedly heavy traffic and eventually figured out how to get to the driveway of my hotel to check in. After getting organized, I took a walk a couple blocks to get an In-n-Out burger and fries for dinner then was in for the night. [62 Pictures from the Roads]

Friday, October 18 - CCSC Rocky Mountain, Flagstaff, Arizona

I woke to an early morning thunderstorm in Flagstaff, which soon became an hours-long event with thunder, lightning, heavy rain, and some snow and sleet [3 Pictures]. I decided to get some breakfast at the hotel (not included in the room...) and wait out the weather. Later in the morning, I picked up my poster from the FedEx store, grabbed some lunch at Raising Cane's [Picture], then proceeded to Northern Arizona University for the first day of the conference. The conference was very small, just about 30 people, but a good number of them engaged with my poster [Picture]. I also enjoyed the talks over the course of the day. After the conference sessions, I had a bit of time back at the room then walked across the street in the light snow for the conference dinner at a Sizzler restaurant. I was back in the room in time to watch the end of the game where the Yankees took a 3-1 series lead over Cleveland in the ALCS. [1 Road Picture]

Saturday, October 19 - CCSC Rocky Mountain in Flagstaff, Arizona, and on to Phoenix, New Mexico

Day 2 of the conference was morning only. I checked out of the hotel around 8:15, waited a bit for the car defroster to melt the coating of snow and ice (cars rented in Las Vegas don't have snow brushes or scrapers) [Picture], and got to NAU [Picture] in plenty of time for the first session. My curricular workshop was in the second half of the morning. After that, the conference wrapped up with an informal lunch. The conference was small, but it was a productive one for me. I decided to hit a gym for a little exercise before the drive to Phoenix. After that, it was a straight shot mainly down I-17 to get to my hotel near the airport. The ride was uneventful, and included stops at three scenic overlooks, the last called Sunset Point [16 Pictures]. I stayed at a Drury Inn, and I was there in time for their Happy Hour buffet which served as my dinner so I could stay in for the evening to watch the ALCS and catch up on some things, ending with a Yankees AL Pennant celebration. [23 Roads Pictures]

Sunday, October 20 - Arizona/California Ride

I had this extra day to do something in the area and decided to do my usual and take a long drive. I got going around 8:30, and headed west on I-10 toward California. I stopped for some desert pictures at a rest area west of Phoenix [7 Pictures], then made a quick side trip to Brenda, Arizona, to drive the western end of US 60 [6 Pictures]. After crossing into California I made another quick backtrack on the I-10 Business loop in Blythe. Then it was a scenic ride down California 78, including a drive across the Imperial Sand Dunes [11 Pictures], to Brawley. I picked a good local Mexican restaurant called Nana Dora's for lunch [4 Pictures]. From there, it was down to I-8 to start back east. Some of I-8 through there runs right along the border, so while I still haven't been into Mexico since 1985, I've again seen it from the U.S. side. I stopped in Yuma for gas just back across into Arizona, then looped back very briefly into California on the I-8 Business loop. Then it was all I-8 until it ended at I-10. I finished with a Whataburger dinner stop in Chandler [Picture] before returning to the hotel for the night after well over 500 miles on the day, almost entirely in places I'd never been before. [80 Pictures from the Roads]

Monday, October 21 - Phoenix, Arizona, to Amsterdam, New York, via Chicago, and Albany

My flight wasn't until 10:30 but I got to the airport very early to make sure things went well on dropping off the car that got a windshield ding along its 1200 miles of my rental. Fortunately no troubles, all was covered. I took the convenient Air Train from the rental facility to the terminal. The terminal was not busy at all at bag drop or security so I had a couple hours before boarding once in the terminal. Shortly before we were supposed to start boarding, a late gate change was announced, about as far from where we were as possible. So we ended up over a half hour late. The flight was good, mostly clear skies other than skirting a line of thunderstorms over Oklahoma and Kansas. There were good views of the southern Rockies, already with some snow at the peaks, Albuquerque, and later on Kansas City and the Mississippi River around Keokuk. On approach to Midway, we circled out over Lake Michigan for a great view of downtown Chicago [3 Pictures]. I had over 3 hours at Midway, time for a little deep dish pizza (which as ok but not great) and then some fries later. The flight to Albany departed just a bit late. [1 Picture from the Road]